Work experience

Its approaching that time of year whereby you may have agreed to have students in the workplace as part of their work experience. If you are a placement provider (employer) then it is yourself that has primary responsibility for the health and safety of the student and should be managing any significant risks.

If you are new to taking students for work experience, talk through what the student will do and any relevant precautions. It might be helpful to make a note of your conversation. There’s no reason why you cannot talk to the parents to ensure you know in advance about any students who might be at greater risk, for example due to health conditions or learning difficulties.

Different working environments will have different degrees of risk. A low risk environment would be a office. For the environment with a increased risk, ensure there are arrangements in place for managing these risks. This could include a induction, supervision, training and any equipment or clothing necessary.

It Is also worth remembering that students do fall into the bracket as “young workers” so you need to be aware of these further protections, as below.

• Young workers are entitled to two days off per week.
A daily rest break of 12 consecutive hours (the break between finishing work one day and starting work the next).

• A rest break of at least 30 minutes if the working day lasts more than 4.5 hours.

• Young workers normally will not work more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

It is important that student know how to and feel comfortable to raise any concerns they may have.